Players who regularly play gaming machines quickly tire of particular games and therefore it is necessary for manufacturers of these machines to develop innovative game features which add interest to the games. In so doing, it is hoped to keep players amused and therefore willing to continue playing the game as well as to attract new players.
Also, with the growth that has occurred in the gaming machine market, there is intense competition between manufacturers to supply various existing and new venues. When selecting a supplier of gaming machines, the operator of a venue will often pay close attention to the popularity of various games with their patrons. Therefore, gaming machine manufacturers are keen to devise games and/or game features which are popular with the players as a mechanism for improving sales, retaining customers and attracting new customers.
A linked progressive system is one where a plurality of gaming machines are linked via a network to a central controller. The linked gaming machines or the central controller allow players of those machines to compete for a jackpot prize. The jackpot prize is progressive in the sense that it increments as a percentage of turnover, ie. bets wagered by players of the linked machines.